I definitely encourage everyone to donate (just $3.50!) if you want to support academics doing great public service aside from their main job (he is an adjunct).
I wish people would provide not just a Patreon link but also a direct payment option. I would love to support this effort, but I do not want to sign up for a Patreon account or a monthly subscription. I'd much rather just make a one-time donation.
The sad news is that the credit card scammers have ruined this - automated credit card testing often looks for small donation pages like you're suggesting, then uses them to check if stolen card numbers are valid. This leads to chargebacks, loss of reputation by the donatee in the eyes of the card processor, and a whole bunch of wasted time. One of the "services" that organizations like Patreon actually perform is to take on this risk on behalf of their clients.
I guess bitcoin/etc payments are still OK, but except in some small niche subject areas, aren't generally accepted enough to make the direct donation setup worthwhile.
Im 28 and have a vague recollection of cheque books. I can assure you no person under 21 in my country can say they have actually seen one. Do they still exist?
They are quite common in the U.S. Vast swaths of our financial system are still stuck in the mid-20th century or earlier. A check is the only way (besides cash) to transfer money in the U.S. without incurring some sort of fee or other overhead.
It must be because I live in a developing country or maybe the lack of infrastructure 30 years ago means we can hop and skip straight to almost fully digital. These days going to the bank is akin to corporal punishment. Just give me an app or you're dead to me.
this. in one of the projects I am working on, we have this problem exactly. automated credit card testing problem for small donations.
we use Stripe API there. And Stripe is just suggesting to pay more for their radar check, which in our opinion, put more burden on both donors and the organization.
Same here! There are plenty of people I would happily give a one time donation to, but signing up on Patroen or giving up details beyond my email address are too big of a step. I’d even settle for a Venmo address.
Given the number and variety of services I've signed up for online, handing over all sorts of PII, the odds that Patreon in particular ends up being the data- breach / misuse that causes me significant annoyance seems ... minuscule.
I've paid quite a few people small amounts by limiting the number of months I'm subscribed.
YouTube creator AvE is a good example, I pay him a few tens of dollars every couple of years, but never stay subscribed via Patreon very long as I derive no extra benefit personal for doing so.
Here is a documentary on wootz produced by al pendray and how they think vanadium from one mine was the key.